I Can Read You
by Softrock-showtunesgirlscout22
Summary: AU. Olivia and Rafael meet by chance but it's faith who seems to pull them towards one another. Barson. I don't own anything.
1. Chapter 1

**I Can Read You**

 _ **AU. Olivia and Rafael meet by chance but it's faith who seems to pull them towards one another. Barson.**_

 **Chapter 1:**

It was 6:00 AM on a Sunday and Rafael was getting ready to go to the office _. No rest for the weary._

He looked at his watch and sighed. His freshly made cup on the counter. He was sure his mother was awake this early.

"Mamí." He spoke slowly. "Yes, everything is fine, I've just have to go in for a few hours." Lucia didn't seem surprised by his call at all. "Yes, I'll still make it to mass."

He put down his cup on the sink and headed back to the room to get his jacket. He hoped his mother would hurry over or he'd be late. He eyed the ajar door at the end of the hallway.

He entered the room slowly, his expert feet avoiding anything he could hit and make a sound.

"Papí?"

"Shh, go back to sleep baby." Too late. A pair of matching green eyes were looking at him. "What time is it?"

"Early,"

"Oh," The little girl smiled softly as she rubbed her eyes. "You gotta go?"

"I do, just for a few hours, Abuelita should be here any second."

He sat on on the bed. "Try and sleep a little bit more."

"You got case?"

"No, just a consult," he smiled. "It shouldn't take me too long,"

"Better not, Abuelita won't like it if you miss church again,"

"Yes; don't remind me." He smiled.

"Rafi?" Lucia called from the door. "I'm here!"

"Oh sweetheart, I didn't wake you did I?" She asked when she spotted Rafael carrying the little girl.

"'No, Miss Sofia was already awake." He sighed. He put her on a chair in the kitchen.

"I was Abuelita, don't worry." She offered her a toothy smile.

"Well then, you can help me make breakfast." She turned to her son. "Do you want me to make you something Rafi?"

"No thanks Mamì. I already had something."

"Aha, and by something you mean caffeine. That is not a real breakfast Rafael, at least take a donut." She motioned at the small brown bag on the counter.

"Mamí…" he rolled his eyes. "That's really not…"

"Don't argue with me." She handed him the donut. "Now go or you'll be late."

"Fine," he smiled. "I'll see the two of you later,"

"At mass?"

"Yes." He rolled his eyes at Lucia and then saw Sofia giggling. " Listen to Abuelita, you hear me?" He kissed the little one goodbye,

"Do you ever listen to her?" Sofia whispered.

"Of course." He winked at her. "Do you?"

* * *

Olivia Benson loved Sundays. It was her sacred day. She got to spend it with Noah and her busy week was worth it just to spend it with her boy.

"Mom?" Noah sat on his chair at the table as Olivia laid down a bowl of cereal in front of him. "Do you think I'll make friends?" Oh, her sweet boy.

He was about to start first grade on Monday and he was a bit nervous about it.

"Of course you will, you just need to be yourself baby."

"Okay." He smiled and moved on to his breakfast.

"So? What do you want to do today?" Olivia asked after a moment.

Noah touched his chin thoughtfully. "We could go to the park, get ice cream?" He asked.

"Sounds perfect." She smiled. "As soon as you finish breakfast I'm going to call Amanda and see if she and Jesse are free, how's that?"

"Yes, and Sonny?"

"Fine, I'll call him too." She sighed. She found it adorable that one of Noah's favorite people happened to be her detective.

"Yes!" He said in victory. "All done, I'm gonna go get ready, okay?"

And just like that he'd flown into his room.

"Oh, I forgot." He came back a moment later and grabbed his bowl, put it on the sink and poured water over it.

"Thank you buddy," Olivia kissed his forehead sweetly. "You're such a big boy, ready for first grade."

"That's what Lucy says." He pointed out. "I'm almost all grown."

"Almost."

* * *

"Where is he?" Sofia stood on a step outside the church, her eyes searching for Rafael. "He promised!"

"Lo sé mi amor." Lucia touched her head gently. "Maybe he got caught up in something.."

"That always happens!" Sofia huffed. "How are we meant to pray as a family if Papì isn't here?"

"Is this all about tomorrow?" Her grandmother asked. "Nervous?"

"Yes."

"You're just like Rafi when he started school, he was worried for nothing. You are just as smart,"

"I am? " Sofia's eyes wondered.

"Claro," Lucia nodded offering the little girl her hand as the bells echoed behind them. "Now lets go in."

Sofia glanced back one last time before following her inside, too distracted to notice anything.

"Didn't miss much, did I?" A voice said behind her.

"Papì!" She hissed excitedly. "You made it."

"Of course I did Princesa." He touched her nose softly.

"Rafi, you two know better than that. Quiet both of you." Lucia shot Rafael a knowing look.

"Rafael, Lucia." Father Simon said with a smile as they walked out of mass. "It's good to see you. Specially you Rafi." He smiled.

"Father." He shook hands with him. "Yes, I've been… busy."

"Busy for church?" He inquired. "Ah yes, I remember your grandmother rest her soul, said you wanted to become a judge."

"I'm not…."

"Don't be modest Rafi." His mother scolded him. "He's working hard Father, that I can tell you."

"Actually we're here for Sofia. She's starting school on Monday." Rafael added in.

"First grade already?" Father Simon Knelt in front of her. "Seems like just yesterday I was in christening."

"Yeah, like six years ago," Sofia pointed out.

They all laughed.

* * *

"How is Noah doing?" Amanda asked as she and Olivia sat on a bench watching Carisi playing with the kids. "And how are you?"

"We're both okay, he's a little nervous about the kids in class, keeps asking me if he'll make any friends."

Amanda smiled. "Really?"

"Of course I told him he just needs to be himself."

"Tough huh?"

"Yes. I can't believe he's six already,"

"Well Jesse is off to Pre- K." Rollins sighed.

"Both will be alright." Olivia smiled as she heard Noah giggle as Sonny tickled him.

"And if it doesn't work, we always have Carisi."

"That we do." Olivia agreed.

* * *

"Thank you for cooking Mijo, it was delicious." Lucia said as she put her plate away.

"Thank you Papì." Sofia smiled as she drank her milk. "Don't think I can eat more."

"No problem, it was my pleasure." . Rafael smiled. " Who's ready for dessert?"

Rafael moved to the kitchen as he took out Rocky Road ice cream.

"I think I could go for ice cream." Sofia said.

"Me too." Lucia laughed. "See Rafi, you do know the secret to a girl's heart."

"Mamí." He sighed. "No empieces por favor." Sofia laughed at the look on her father's face. "I'm not talking about this."

"Fine. I still think you should try and go out with Yolanda. She's a nice girl. Has a son too, so she knows your situation,"

"My situation?" He eyed Lucia carefully. "I'm not going to any blind dates."

"Rafael…"

"Sofi, please go to your room," he turned to his daughter.

"Why?" She groaned.

"Porqué te lo digo yo." He said eyeing her. "Por favor."

Sofia rolled her eyes and did what she was told. Rafael heard the door close and then turned to his mother.

"We're not doing this again Mamí." He sighed as he began to clean up the table. "I don't even have to think about dating."

"You should make the time Rafi. Sofía's growing up, she's in need of a mother." Rafael was about to say something but she shushed him. "I know you try Mi amor, but it's not enough and you know it."

* * *

"Noah you have five more minutes of TV and then its bath time, okay buddy?" Olivia called.

"Do I have to?"

"Yes," she kissed his forehead as she reached the living room. "You don't want to be all stinky when you go to school tomorrow, do you?" Noah waved his head.

"Bath time. Five minutes."

"And then can I finish the movie?"

"Yes."

* * *

"Hi." Rafael opened the door to Sofia's room. He spotted the little girl on the bed playing with her dolls.

"Where's Abuelita?"

"She left." He told her.

"Did you fight?" The little girl asked.

"No, we had a disagreement. That's different." Rafael sat on the edge of the bed. Sofia sighed. "I'll talk to her later, I promise."

"Can we watch a movie?" Sofia asked after a moment. Rafael smiled, at least she'd let it rest for now.

His phone buzzed. It was work.

"Go set it up, I'll be right there. Barba." He watched as Sofia left the room.

Sofia eyed her father as he talked. She moved to his room and grabbed the remote. Browsing Netflix to find the movie she wanted.

"Frozen?" He asked coming into the room. "Haven't we watched that before?"

"Yes but Papì we know all the songs." Rafael smiled. "Please?" Oh that girl would be the end of him.

"I can't argue with that." He sat on the bed and then pulled the little girl back with him. "Hey, guess who got a meeting pushed back tomorrow morning? That means I can drop you off tomorrow."

"You're not going to cry, are you?" She was completely serious. "Abuelita says I'm just as smart as you, you know?"

"Yes, that's what I'm afraid of." Rafael mused as she rolled her eyes.

Soon enough he was humming to Frozen songs and putting his child to bed.

Tomorrow would be another day.

 _Sofia's first day of school._

* * *

"Noah? Did you brush your teeth?" Olivia had come into the room to tuck the little boy into bed.

"Yes." He said proudly, showing off a toothy smile. "And I did it all by myself."

"Good, I'm proud of you, now let's get into bed,"

"Mom?"

"Yes?" She put the covers up to his chin.

"We're ready for tomorrow, right?"

"More than ready, I'm going to take you in the morning and Lucy will pick you up." Noah's face fell a bit. "I'll try and come early so you tell me all about your big day, I promise."

"Okay, but not if you are helping someone and putting the bad guys away, okay?" Olivia smiled sweetly.

"Okay."

* * *

 _ **What do you guys think? I'm so in love with Barson! You have no idea. Title comes from Leap of Faith musical starring Raúl. Give it a listen, it's such a good one. I do hope you enjoy it.**_

 _ **Thanks for reading.**_

 _ **Translation:**_

 _ **Princesa- princess.**_

 _ **Porque te lo digo yo - because I'm telling you.**_

 _ **Mi amor- sweetheart**_

 _ **Por favor- please**_

 _ **Lo sé mi amor - I know sweetheart**_


	2. Chapter 2

**I Can Read You**

 **AU. Olivia and Rafael meet by chance but it's faith who seems to pull them towards one another. Barson.**

 **Chapter 2:**

Rafael was a take no nonsense attorney at work, but at home he'd never admit to anyone he knew how to braid his daughter's hair, help her chose an outfit and sing along Disney movies.

"Enana! We don't want to late..." He called.

"Papi, have you seen my shoe?" Sofia came out of her room, half dressed jumping on a foot. Rafael was finishing making her lunch.

"I put them right by the bed yesterday, did you check under it?"

"Yes, it's not there." She said sitting on the kitchen table. "Checked twice." Rafael smiled.

"Here, you eat." He put a bowl of cereal in front of her. "I'll look for that shoe. Eat." He kissed her forehead . "Found it!"

"Under the bed?"" He came out a moment later waving the shoe with her jacket in one hand. "Oh."

"It's okay , just like when I loose my notebook." Her father added helping her with the shoe.

"That does happen a lot." She smiled .Rafael rolled his eyes .

"Simpática. " Rafael pinched her nose. "Hey, today is gong to be great . "

"I know Papi,." She turned around to finish her cereal. "You need to eat too, Abuelita said I gotta make sure you eat."

"She did huh?" He took a sip of his cup. "How about we worry about you first okay,? I'm a big boy. "

"Papi, we said we'd take care of each other, remember?" The little girl said in all seriousness . "you eat and I do too." She crossed her arms.

"Está bien." He took another bowl and poured some Coco Puffs. "Happy?"

"Yep." She joked raising her spoon which he clicked with hers. "You done? He asked after a moment . "Better go brush those teeth , we need to go." He took a deep breath.

 _He'd been telling her all morning she was going to be fine, but maybe he needed to believe it first ._

* * *

"Katie said she'd pick you after school, help you with your homework." Rafael said as they waked hand in hand to school.

"I don't think we'll have any on the first day." She told him. "I hope." She added. Barba laughed.

"Let's hope not." That was the end of their conversation until they reached the school. "Hey Sof? Remember what we've talked about?"

"About what?" He gave her a look . "Oh yeah , always say please and thank you?" He stopped for a moment in front of the school gate and crouched to her level. "That, of course and..."

"Have fun? Learn a lot?"

"Exactamente princesa. mírame, quiero que sepas que estoy muy orgulloso de ti. Siempre." He touched her chin. "Te amo."

"Yo también Papi." She hugged him. Rafael wrapped his arms around the little girl. "You promised you wouldn't cry." Sofia whispered against his neck.

"I'm fine." He told her with a laugh. "Here." Sofia smiled up at him as he stood up, handing over her bag. "Déjame mirarte. Toda una niña grande . " He reached for his pocket. "Take this, don't forget you got another one in your bag."

Her inhaler.

"Kay, " Sofia grinned. "Wait." She said thoughtfully. She reached for him and he leaned down to fix his tie. Or at least try to. "Perfect."

"How are we doing this morning?" a female voice said behind Rafael. "First day?"

"Yes, are we too obvious?" He asked . Sofia blushed.

"Don't worry, it's perfectly normal. "I'm Mrs. Pearson."

"I'm Rafael, this is Sofia." He glanced towards his daughter. "It's nice to meet you."

"Oh Sofia Barba? I think you're in my class sweetie, and don't worry sir, it gets easier." He smiled gratefully .

"See Papi? I'm okay." Sofia whispered. "You don't want to be late." Mrs. Pearson eyed Rafael and smiled. "Big case remember?"

"Right." He sighed . "Can I at least get another hug?"

"I love you Papi." She said sweetly kissing his cheek.

"I love you too. So much. Be good."

"You too." She added. "Got your notebook?"

"Why would I do without you huh?" He smiled , Sofia shrugged. And he began to wave goodbye until she was out of sight.

 _Right . Time to suit up._

* * *

"Oh I was a wreck, of course Jesse seemed perfectly fine." Rollins told Liv as they walked away from the school gate.

"Don't worry, she's going to be just fine, soon enough you're going to be very grateful she's in school for the day."

" I take it Noah was a trooper?" She asked.

"Yes, me? Not so much, but it wasn't as hard as when I left him in daycare for the first time.." Olivia admitted.

Rollins laughed. "Oh, don't remind me. Declan is been talking about having another one, and I'm just not so sure I could handle it."

"What are you taking about?" Olivia asked. "I think it's a great idea, I'd do it, again if I could. Lord knows Noah has been asking me about it."

"And?"

"I mean I could try." She admitted looking at Amanda. "I just don't know if I could go trough all of it alone." Liv smiled. Her phone buzzed and she looked down at it, without looking where she was going,

"I'm sorry..." she drooped her phone. she'd bumped into some guy, "I wasn't looking..."

"Oh no, it was my fault." He said kindly. "Here." She finally got to look at him better. He had gorgeous green eyes. He handed her back her phone.

"Thank you." She smiled . He did too. Amanda shot him a look as he went on his way.

"No problem. "

Amanda's phone was buzzing now. "Rollins." She spoke. "That was Fin, we've got a case."

* * *

 **So those two still haven't really met just yet, kind of bumped on each other. The meeting is coming soon enough.**

 **I do hope you liked this chapter , I'd probably be able to update later this week.**

 **Translations:**

 **Simpática -funny**

 **Enana- munchkin or shorty. (My dad used to call me that when I was little.)**

 **Exactamente princesa. mírame, quiero que sepas que estoy muy orgulloso de ti. Siempre." - Exactly princess, look at me , I want you to know how proud I am . always.**

 **Déjame mirarte. Toda una niña grande- Let me look at you,such a big girl.**

 **Hope you liked this chapter , next will have more Olivia and Noah :)**


	3. Chapter 3

**I Can Read You**

 **AU. Olivia and Rafael meet by chance but it's faith who seems to pull them towards one another. Barson.**

 **I own nothing .**

 **Chapter 3:**

"Okay Sofia, why don't you take a seat over here and we'll begin soon." Mrs. Pearson said with a smile as she led the little girl to her classroom for the first time. It was a new school so she clearly didn't know anyone, not that she was shy or anything. She eyed the children for a moment, she remembered Katie telling her she needed to smile in order to get someone's attention. The rest would be easy.

"What are you looking at?" A small voice said. She looked up to see a little boy curiously glancing at her. "Do you miss your mom?"

"I don't have one." She told him. The little boy blinked a couple times.

"Oh." He said. "I don't have a daddy, do you have one?"

"Yes." A smile formed on her lips. "He's the best dad in the whole wide world."

"I'm Noah," He gave her his hand. "Sonny you have to shake hands with people," Sofa looked at him.

"I'm Sofia." She smiled, taking his hand. "First time?"

"Yeah, never been to first grade, that's for sure, there's a lot less toys here." Noah noted glancing around the room. Sofia imitated him.

"You're right" Sofia put her finger to her chin. "I guess they're keeping them somewhere for now, Papi says you always have to put your toys away once you're done with them."

"What's Papi? Is it a Spanish word? My Uncle Nick talks like that sometimes." Noah said. Sofia looked at him for a moment. "He's fun, not so much as Sonny though, he's the best with me and Jesse."

Sofia stared at the boy. Unamused.

"Yes, it means daddy, but I call him Papi because he's Cuban." Sofia explained. "Sometimes when he's mad, he'll start yelling in Spanish, mostly to his phone" Noah Smiled

"My mom talks a lot on her phone too. She chases bad guys. She's a superhero." Noah said proudly. "What does your daddy do?

"He's a lawyer." She said simply. "He puts bad people away too."

"Oh, bet they could do it together." Sofia bit her lip. "My mom knows Spanish too, so maybe they could be friends. "

Sofia was about to say something when they heard Mrs. Pearson.

"Okay guys! Gather around, class is about to start!" Mrs. Pearson called. Sofia and Noah turned around instantly.

"Come on." Noah told her. "Want to sit together?"

"Sure."

* * *

"Hey Katie. How's school?" He had just been given half an hour recess.

"Same. Boring. Tons of homework. How did it go today? Did she cry? Did you?"

"No." Rafael said neutrally. "I didn't."

"Liar." She mused. Rafael laughed. "You still need me to pick her up?"

"Yes, I wanted to surprise her but they're not going to let me out of here on time. Jury's taking their time."

"I'm guessing you haven't worked on the wife? She doesn't know what she's in for." Katie added. "Did she really kill him?"

"That's what I'm trying to prove, yes." He said with a sigh. "Speaking of which, I have to get back. See you tonight?"

"Yeah, see you later, kick butt."

"You doubt me?" He smiled. "See you kid."

* * *

"Hola, me llamo Noah." He'd done it. It had taken him all day but he had finally managed to let out his first sentence. Sofia clapped. "I did it!" She had offered to teach her new friend a bit of Spanish so he could surprise his Uncle Nick.

"See? Told you it wasn't that hard." Sofia said. "But maybe we should stick to words for now. It'll be easier."

"Okay." Noah smiled. He sat back down on swing next to Sofia as they began to see parents arrive for pick up. "Tomorrow?"

"Same time, same place." Sofia smiled. She spotted Katie in the crowd. She grabbed her bag and waved at her nanny.

"There she is. My first grader." Katie made her way over the swings. "Look at you. Seem smarter." Sofia laughed. Noah stared at them, he'd somehow followed Sofia. He tried to practice his newly found language but failed. He should have said it slowly.

"Katie, this is Noah."

"Mucho gusto." Katie said with a smile. Noah looked at Sofia for support. She leaned to whisper something in his ear.

"Today was his first lesson." She pointed out.

"I see." Katie said. "Well Noah, it was really nice to meet you, maybe you can come over for a play date soon."

"Okay." Noah smiled. "Oh there's my mom." Sofia turned to see the lady who was waving her new friend hello. Olivia had managed to relieve Lucy and come pick up Noah herself .

"There you are sweet boy." Olivia was quick to hug her son. "How was your day?"

Noah shrugged. "I learned Spanish."

"You did? Wow." She wasn't sure that was part of his class but they lived in New York after all.

"Yeah and have a new friend, her name is Sofia. She's over there."

He pointed at Katie and Sofia. "Hey Sofia!" Olivia moved to say hello to the little girl.

"Hi sweetheart." Olivia said with a smile. "I'm Olivia, Noah's mom."

"You're pretty." Sofia pointed out. Katie glanced at her.

"Well thank you, you are too. Is this your mom?"

"No, the nanny. I'm Katie." The younger woman said. Suddenly, Benson's phone buzzed.

"Excuse me." She said kindly. "Benson."

"She's just like Papi the office calls." Sofia muttered. Katie laughed.

"Bet you she's a lawyer too."

"She doesn't look like one." The little girl pointed out. "But she puts bad guys away like Papi."

"I'm sorry, we have to run." Olivia said. "It was really nice meeting you both and we'll definitely will get together, play date?"

"Of course." Katie said. "Bye Noah."

The little boy waved goodbye until they were out of sight.

"So…"

"So…" Sofia repeated. "What did Papi say about dinner?"

"Just that Lucia is coming over." Katie told her. "Did they fight again?"

"Had an argument." The little girl said. "Papi says so."

"Of course he does."

"Papi has to have a girlfriend, I wasn't meant to hear them but I did. Abuelita says I need a mom." Her face fell. They kept walking in silence for a moment. "I'm not sure I want one. I have you" Katie really felt for her and Rafael. They were like her family. She remembered when she'd been sent juvie and Rafael had been set up to represent her. He'd just had Sofia and something between them just clicked.

She was a mess, a 13 year old orphan girl, without any path whatsoever and she was now in college. Building a life for herself. She wasn't sure she was the right person to tell Sofia how to feel.

"But I don't Papi to be alone." She told her. Katie knew Rafael all too well. She was sure he'd never loved anyone as much as Sofia's mom.

"Mija tell me all about your first day." Lucia said as soon as she walked through the door. Sofia was watching as Katie made dinner.

"It was okay Abuelita. I get to sit next to two other girls, they don't talk much." Lucia smiled.

"I'm sure you'll be making friends in no time."

"She already does." Katie said. Lucia glanced at her granddaughter. "His name is Noah. Cute kid."

"Oh, Sofi, that's great news Mi amor. "

Suddenly the door clicked open, "Papi!" She was down the stool, anything to get away from Lucia's inquiries.

"Whoa." Rafi was able to put his case down before it flew to the other side of the room. "Hola Enana, what's all this?

"I missed you Papi." She held on to his neck as Rafael balanced his weight and carried her along.

"I missed you too princesa." He said sweetly. "Was school fun?"

"I guess, Mrs. Pearson is really nice, I learned a lot." She bit her lip. "Helped Noah with his Spanish."

"Who's Noah?" He asked curiously.

"Sofi's new friend." Lucia said kissing Rafi's cheek.

 _Sofia's first friend, a boy? Okay. He could live with that. Right?_

* * *

"Noah, my man!" Nick said as soon as he spotted the little boy.

"Hi Uncle Nick, guess what? I know Spanish now." He said proudly. He didn't see Zara much and as far as he knew she knew a bit of it too.

"Oh." Nick glanced at Olivia. "Alright, let's hear it."

"Hola, me llamo Noah." He babbled.

"Very good bud, are they teaching you that at school?" He asked.

"No, Sofia is."

"Sofia…." Nick raised an eyebrow.

"Her dad is from Cuba, are you from there too Uncle Nick?"

"Well, my parents, grandma, I wasn't actually born there." He explained. Nick was amused at his sudden interest, he'd never been too interested before, apart from a few words.

"Oh," Noah said. "Sofia said she'd teach me more tomorrow, so I'll show you?"

"Come on baby, you're on desk duty with Fin until Lucy gets here to take you home." Olivia told him." She led him to her office. "I have to go, alright? Lucy is on her way, I won´t be long."

"Kay." Noah put on his headphones and clicked on the screen of the iPad Olivia had handed him. "I love you mommy."

"I love you." She kissed his cheek. "You're now active Sergeant, so keep an eye on Fin and Amanda for me?" Noah nodded with a smile.

 _Her boy was so big now. No longer a baby._

* * *

 ** _Rafi doesn't like the idea of Noah? Nah, he's just being Barba. And Olivia is having mixed feelings, also we have Dodds and Nick here! Yes!_**

 ** _Translations:_**

 ** _Hola me llamo Noah- Hi, I'm Noah."_**

 ** _So? I love writing this so much! I hope you're enjoying it as well! Thanks for the follows and reviews, they make me so happy_**


	4. Chapter 4

**I Can Read You**

 **AU. Olivia and Rafael meet by chance but it's faith who seems to pull them towards one another. Barson.**

 **Prepare to have a lot of feels.**

 **For Ellie.**

 **Chapter 4 :**

There were few times during his adult life that had made Rafael terrified. Most of those fears were somewhat masked by his sharp approach in court this day.

They didn't call him "El Tiburón" for nothing.

But today he was afraid, he'd gotten a call from Katie about Sofia, his little girl had collapsed on the playground, Mrs Pearson had told him he should come and pick her up.

As he drove to the school his head began to pound. A familiar pain in his chest began to surge.

* * *

 _He remembered the dizziness and the pain it had brought him the next morning but mostly he felt sick. He had messages from Eddie and his mother._

 _Eddie. He was the parent type, he already had a child, one, Rafael had only seen a handful of times._

 _"Rafi, its Eddy, call me back, you're starting to scare me." He listened to one of his messages._

 _"I'm going over there, before you hurt yourself." He heard on the recording. That had been 20 minutes before._

 _He was sure he'd be here any minute._

 _"Mano, open up!" He heard his friend's voice from the other side of the door. His head spun farther as the shouting increased._

 _"Rafi, what happened?" Eddie asked as soon as he opened the door. "Your mom called me."_

 _"She did, huh?" He said bitterly. He smelled of a distillery and he knew it. Eddie sighed. "Good, she told you I'm a disappointment?"_

 _"She told me you just left the baby with her." He told him. "What's going on bro? I mean, I know you're hurting Raf, but you know better than that to leave your kid like that."_

 _"The pro speaking from experience huh?" Rafael shot at him, sitting back on the couch. "My mom has done this before, she'll be fine."_

 _Eddie had never seen Rafael like this before, he was the smart one, he was the one to break from the stereotypes and chains, to get out of El Barrio and succeed. Sure as hell he'd never end up like his father._

 _"Rafi, don't be like that, you can't do that, you have to be responsible." Rafael looked at him. "My marriage isn't perfect but I know I'd never walk out on Theo, that as far as I know, you don't want to do that to your little girl Rafi, you want to show her what a good man is, the best, I know you are."_

* * *

Rafael sighed. "Mr. Barba?" He recognized Sofia's teacher. "I'm sorry that we had to call you in, but we didn't want to risk it given Sofia's history." Thankfully it wasn't the worst case scenario so she didn't have to be rushed into the hospital.

"Of course, don't apologize, I appreciate you calling." He smiled softly. "Can I take Sofía home?"

"Yes, she'll be right out." Rafael nodded, he glanced at his watch. If he'd known he would have called Katie and she'd take Sofia home but she had told him school would be crazy this week. His phone buzzed. "Carmen? Yes, I don't think I'll be able to get back to the office on time. Put Matt on it, I'll see him at my place later tonight."

Matt was his law student/Protégée. He was a fidgety kind of guy but smarter than most of the kids Barba had had to deal with in his career. He saw Sofia coming out with his teacher and a little boy, he guessed to be her new friend Noah, although he hadn't actually met him.

"Papi? I told them I was fine." Sofia said as soon as she saw him. "You didn't have to come, don't you have work?"

"I do." He said simply. "Matt is coming over to work on the case later." Sofia gave him a look. She really hated being the center of attention, she knew how busy his father was. "Wanna tell me what happened?"

Silence.

"She fell." Noah told him. "She wouldn't open her eyes."

"Maybe Mrs. Pearson can tell me?" He asked. She shrugged.

"She overdid it with the running." Mrs. Pearson explained. "The kids were playing a game and she began to gasp for air."

"I was fine." Sofia stated. "I am."

"Ana Sofia." He never, ever used her full name unless she'd broken a rule. "What did we say about being careful not overdoing yourself…"

"I was just having fun Papi," Sofia said. "I didn't mean it." She knew he was more worried than mad, her father was a man of many layers, Abuelita had explained, he didn't like to show weakness, especially not to her or his family. He always felt the need to be strong.

But sometimes, he just wasn't. "I'm sorry."

Rafael smiled, he reached for her face, crouching down to her level. "Sofi, I'm not mad, you know that, don't you?"

"I didn't want you to worry."

"You could call it that." He admitted shyly. "You know better. We both do." Noah eyed Rafael curiously. He could see he was worried.

"Hello there Noah, thank you for being such a good friend to Sofia." He told him kindly. Noah smiled as Barba offered him his hand. He shook it. " Taking care of her,"

"My mom says it's our job to take care of others." Noah said. "And Sofia is my friend."

"Well, she's lucky to have you." Rafael ruffled his hair.

* * *

He carried Sofia home, he wouldn't be feeling better until they reached the apartment. "I am sorry Papi." She told him. "I don't want to die like your Abuelita did. I don't want you to be alone."

He stopped cold on his tracks, putting her down for a moment. "Sofi, what happened to Abuelita was…"

"That she stopped breathing." Sofia said.

"No, she had a heart attack. I mean yes she couldn't breathe but, that's not going to happen to you."

"Because she was old and I'm not?" This made him smile softly. "Little kids die too, Father Simon says there's a lot of angels in heaven that are babies who didn't get to meet their mommy or daddy."

Barba sighed. He often forgot just how young sofia was sometimes because she acted so grown up, mostly telling him off or cheering him on.

"Escúchame." He said softly. "Nunca voy a dejar que te pase nada malo, ¿entiendes? Nunca." He held onto his little girl for dear life.

* * *

 _He was never late, ever. Today was his first day back at the office. Carmen greeted him with a folder and a cup of coffee in hand. He'd be starting easy today, a custody case with social services. Her parents has just died and she was caught stealing from a convenience store._

 _"Katie Summers, 12." Carmen said. "It's the fifth foster home she's been in in the last seven months, they are not sure if anyone wants to take on a runner."_

 _A runner, the state had labels for every child case, every single one of them. "Are you sure you want to take on this one?" His assistant asked._

 _This wasn't his type of case but Eddie had asked him to look into it._

 _"I'm fine." He told her. "Just a little tired."_

 _"Sleep deprived is more like it. Why don't you ask your mom to move in?" He shot her a look._

 _"No, my mother has a lot to deal with already, plus, I have a nanny." Yes, an old friend of his mother who had offered to take in the baby during his office hours, it was a temporary arrangement of course as she was elderly and could only do so much._

 _"Huh huh-" She said. "You should have asked for more time." He sighed._

 _Maybe so._

* * *

Katie put her pencil down with a thud. She glanced at the clock and then at her phone. She promised Rafi she'd go home for diner, she'd be bringing it anyway as he and Matt were working late on a case. Rafael had called her to tell her about Sofia. She knew he was worried, more than he should have maybe, but that was Rafi for you.

He always worried about everyone but himself, back when she had first met him, the first day actually, he had seem weary, of her maybe, of having to deal with her like Kayla, her case worker was. She really didn't mean to be such a pain, not all the time anyway, but she didn't want people telling her what to do, she had been doing it on her own for years.

She didn't need anyone.

Or at least that's what she had thought back then.

"Food is here!" She called. Rafael and Matt were in his office, their noses on paper and Sofia was watching cartoons a few yards from them, on her father's line of vision with an oxygen mask on her face. "Hey Sof, how are you feeling?"

"Fine." She told her. "I felt a bit dizzy though, papi says this will help me sleep better" Katie brushed her hair softly.

"Oh man, I'm sorry I wasn't there to pick you up." Katie worried, she knew it would have been a better idea for everyone if she hadn't moved out, but Rafael insisted she needed her space and the whole college experience.

"Guys…" She knocked on the door. "You know, it's a good thing I have a key." Rafael raised his face for the first time, so did Matt.

"Katie Summers, it's great to see you. Haven't kicked you out I see." Matt said with a smile.

"You wish." She said. "I see Rafi still keeps you around."

"Of course. Matt wasn't much older than her, 26 or so, he'd been working in Barba's office for a few years now. "He wouldn't get rid of me."

"Don't tempt me kid." Rafael joked. They moved to the kitchen, Katie handing Sofia a slice of pizza as she went.

Rafael would watch her closely as she ate, her eyes focused on the cartoon she was watching, a smile forming on her face at times.

"You're going to burn a hole through the wall." Katie told him. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine."

* * *

 _Rafael woke up to the sound of loud cries. He held the pillow next to him for a moment as he collected himself, his eyes moving to the crib a few feet from the bed._

 _"Shh…" He said quietly. Sofia was yet to sleep through the night. She had been having some pretty complicated nights lately, just last week landing her in the hospital with a respiratory infection. He took the baby into his arms and rocked her softly, placing her against his chest, he could feel the warmth of the baby's body against his, and it was winter so he begged to god she wouldn't get sick. "You just don't let me have it easy, do you?" He whispered to her. In the dim light he could see she had her fist in her mouth as she began to calm down with the sound of his voice apparently, he moved back to his bed, baby in his arms and laid down, Sofia still resting on his chest. She stared at him. "How about a song huh?" Rafael said, he thought for a minute of a song, he first thought of a Spanish lullaby his mother used to sing when he was little but decided against it._

 _Then he began singing softly:_

 ** _Now I've heard there was a secret chord_**

 ** _That David played, and it pleased the Lord_**

 ** _But you don't really care for music, do you?_**

 ** _It goes like this_**

 ** _The fourth, the fifth_**

 ** _The minor fall, the major lift_**

 ** _The baffled king composing Hallelujah_**

 ** _Hallelujah_**

 ** _Hallelujah_**

 ** _Hallelujah_**

 ** _Hallelujah_**

 ** _Your faith was strong but you needed proof_**

 ** _You saw her bathing on the roof_**

 ** _Her beauty and the moonlight overthrew you_**

 ** _She tied you to a kitchen chair_**

 ** _She broke your throne, and she cut your hair_**

 ** _And from your lips she drew the Hallelujah_**

 ** _Hallelujah, Hallelujah_**

 ** _Hallelujah, Hallelujah_**

 _He wasn't even halfway through the song when he heard his child's soft snores._

* * *

 ** _So this was Rafael Centric, I just love writing him and Sofia so much, I hope you enjoy it as much as I do. But he met Noah!_**

 ** _Translation:_**

 **"Escúchame, Nunca voy a dejar que te pase nada malo, ¿entiendes? Nunca." -Listen to me, I'll never let anything bad happen to you, do you hear me? Never.**

 ** _I just had that song in my head and whoever who has heard Raúl's rendition of it, well it's so great._**

 ** _I'd love a review if you get the chance._**


	5. Chapter 5

**I Can Read You**

 **AU. Olivia and Rafael meet by chance but it's faith who seems to pull them towards one another. Barson.**

 **Chapter 5:**

Saturdays at the park with Amanda, Jesse and the boys was something Olivia cherished. Specially today as her young detective had told her she had Declan had decided to take some time apart, Olivia didn't question it but it was only a few weeks ago that Rollins had told her maybe they were ready to try for another child and now were at odds with each other.

Benson wasn't really an expert in relationships, hell, she couldn't keep one of her own, romantically, Tucker was gone, and so was Brian, although he'd become Uncle Brian to Noah, meaning he was still around and wanted to keep being around. He was after all, one of the few people to reach her.

"Liv?" It was Amanda. "You okay?"

"I should be asking you that." Her Lt. said and she smiled softly. "What do you need?"

"Nothing, not really anyway, I just want what's best for Jesse you know? And her dad is one of the good guys, I just want things to stay that way for her."

"Of course." Liv said softly, she touched Amanda's arm. "But if there's anything..."

"How is the adoption thing going? Have you looked into it?" She shifted the subject completely to her. Olivia turned to look at Noah. "No, huh?"

"I'm not sure if I should..." Liv admitted.

"I thought you said he asked you?" Amanda asked.

"He did, but I don't think he fully understands what a baby could mean for him, for us." Amanda gazed at her.

"It would mean good Liv, I mean I don't have the best record when it comes to siblings, but you have Carisi at the example that siblings can be a good thing, and that way you and Noah won't be alone."

Rollins had a point and so did Noah apparently, he'd been having so much fun at school with his friend Sofia that he had been asking again if he could get a sibling. She'd have to ask Trevor about it though, she didn't think she'd be as lucky twice.

"I'll look into it." She told Rollins. She didn't believe her. "I promise I will."

* * *

"The park looks nice." Rafael said as he sat next to Eddie on a bench. Sofia had already run along with Theo.

"Yeah, they fixed it up since we were kids." Eddie said. "It's good to see you Mano, I missed your pretty face."

"Yeah sorry I missed dinner a couple times." He said. He and Eddie had been close their whole lives, most when Sofia was a baby but now Rafael didn't seem to find the time to meet up. "So what's up?"

"Delia is back." Eddie told him. "She's back and wants to meet with me to talk about Theo,"

"How is she back?" Rafael asked. "Are you sure Eddie, she's tried to come back before and it's only for days at a time,"

"She got an apartment, says she knows she can't have nothing to do with me but I can't deny her to see Theo." Rafael knew that to be true, even if Delia wasn't an inch of motherly material, Eddie could be in for a fight. "I really don't wanna fight her you know? But Theo? He doesn't need all that crap."

All that crap was a custody battle.

"What do you need?" Rafael asked. Eddie sighed, he glanced over at the kids and then back at him.

"For you to tell me what I should do Rafi. I don't want to screw up." Rafael smiled softly.

"I can put someone on your case, someone I trust will do a good job." He told him.

"You're not gonna do it?" He asked.

"No, I can't there's too much... History." He stopped there. "It would make the case weaker Eddie, I don't want to risk it."

"Of course." He said finally. "Thank you Rafi. You really are the best."

"Papí can we please get some ice cream?" Sofia asked as she and Theo joined them a moment later.

"Please?" Theo echoed. "Please Uncle Raf,"

"Sure, let's go, what do you say Eddie, you think Mr. Ramirez is up for a visit from two of his best customers?" Eddie laughed as he took Theo's hand and they began to walk towards the old Heladería. Rafael stopped cold as soon as he saw it, the place hadn't changed in more than 20 years. He felt like stone on his feet.

"Papí, are you okay?" Sofia asked, she shook his arm softly. "Does your tummy hurt?" That was when he noticed his fists were clutched.

"Rafi?" Eddie echoed in concern. It was as if Rafael had traveled back in time to being 10 and having missed soccer practice, his father had been so mad at him and showed him just how much with his fist.

"Eddie Garcia, you don't come alone I see," A raspy voice said as Ramirez gave a wide smile . "Rafael , it's been too long Mijo, are we too little for you to pay us a visit?"

"Nunca," Rafael smiled softly as the man hugged him. "How's Conchita?"

"She's good, enjoying the newest grandchild, another boy." Rafael smiled. "You on the other hand are all about girls I see." Ramirez glanced towards Sofia , "you are so big Sofi, haven't seen you in a while."

"Uncle Eddie hasn't been to our house much, we moved too far away, Papì says I'd be harder for me to get to school."

"Of course, El Juez doesn't want to risk it." The older man said, "or is El Tiburón? You made a name for yourself Rafael, I bet Lucia is pleased."

"I'm not a judge Mr. Ramirez" Rafael retored.

"Well you sure have come a long way, with raising your daughter too." He said kindly. "Now come inside," Rafael rolled his eyes at Eddie . He'd clearly been talking his big mouth on.

As soon as they were inside the kids began asking for their treat, Eddie and Rafael apologized.

"You were that age too and just as eager." He told them, "Ice cream brings that light on a child , and for that you should never say you're sorry."

"I thought those eyes seemed familiar." a female voice said, Rafael would recognize it anywhere.

"Vanessa." He said softly.

"What? you're too much of a lawyer to hug me?" Vanessa crossed her arms. Rafael moved to hug her, she kissed his cheek as her arms rolled her wheelchair forward. "Eddie, how did you manage to get him here? what did you do?"

* * *

"And Noah agreed?" Trevor asked. Olivia had called him over to discuss her adoption again.

"Yes, he actually asked for me to look into it, that's all I am doing, for now."

"I see." Trevor smiled. "I'll see what I can do."

Olivia sighed. There was no turning back now, unless they couldn't find a child as perfect as Noah , which Liv found unlikely .

"Mommy?" Noah sat on his bed as Olivia had come back into the room after Trevor left.

"Yes sweet boy?"

"Is Trevor going to find my new sister? When is she comming?" Olivia could see pure hope in his eyes. "How come the baby don't grow on your tummy? Like Jesse did? Is it because I don't have a dad?"

Liv froze. "Well, part of it yes, but..."

"Sofia doesn't have a mommy, just like I don't have a dad." Noah said suddenly.

"Is that so?" Liv took her chance. "What happened to her?" Noah shrugged,

"Sofia says she's never met her," Noah said. "And her dad doesn't talk about her, she don't even know her name."

* * *

 **So, more background for Rafael because I'm a sucker for it, there's hints at Sofia's mom, and will Liv adopt again?**

 **Next chapter Barson actually meet, in a disastrous way of course!**

 **Thank you everyone for reading! don't forget to review!**


	6. Chapter 6

**I Can Read You**

 **AU. Olivia and Rafael meet by chance but it's faith who seems to pull them towards one another. Barson.**

 **Thank you to everyone following, liking and reviewing... You guys are so awesome.**

 **So, six chapters in the making! Barson finally meet.**

 **For Ellie**

 **Chapter 6:**

Katie made sure the lights were off in Sofia's room before making it back to her own, well, it wasn't really hers anymore, rather than Rafael's study but most of her stuff was still there. She'd decided to spend the weekend at home rather than on campus and it had worked perfectly since Rafael had to work late. He'd been working on getting that promotion, she knew just how much, after all, when she met he'd been just first time parent struggling to raise his child and make his career work.

She'd slipped the lock on the door and moved back to the couch to grab a glass of milk from the counter. It was good to be home.

The sound of baging on a wall woke her up, at first she thought she'd been dreaming, but the screams were real, she'd recognize them right away. It sure as hell sounded like Martha, the neighbor, maybe her drunk husband was back, though Katie suspected she'd kicked him out such as many times as she'd welcomed him back.

"Katie?" A small voice said behind her. Great. She'd heard the whole thing. "What's wrong?"

"Go back to bed Sof, everything is fine." Sofia knew better though, she was smarter than most kids her age and she'd lived next to Martha long enough to know it wasn't nothing.

"Is he going to hit her again? Is he going to hit them all again?" She asked. her eyes wide."Katie?"

 _How did she...Crap._

Katie sighed. "Stay here." She told her, "I'm going to lock the door behind me okay?"

"But..." Katie wasn't one to be scared, after all, she'd been on the street for some time before Rafael took her in. "I want to help."

"Stay here." She said again, she put on her sneakers and pushed her back to her room, told her to put on headphones and wait for her, Rafi would kill her if something were to happen. "Rafi, it's me." She spoke after she was answered by his voicemail, it was well passed midnight and she was sure without Carmen or Matt checking him every second, he'd pull an all nighter. "You need to get home as soon as you get this and yes before you freak out, Sofia is fine."

Katie took a deep breath and grabbed her old baseball bat which was hidden under her bed, it was so cliche, but she couldn't think of anything else. She opened the door of and peeked into the corridor, she could listen to more screaming, just as she'd said, she locked Sofia in and took a few steps towards Martha's apartment.

* * *

Olivia had been woken up by Dodds. It was Friday night, well passed midnight and she had prayed New York would require her tomorrow morning when she'd be able to leave Noah at Daycare as Lucy had asked her if she could go visit her grandmother who'd been sick, of course Liv agreed, but now more than ever she realized just how much she depended on Lucy, not that she hadn't realized before but. "Mom?" Noah had asked, his voice small as he rubbed his eyes. "What's wrong?" She'd hoped not to wake him, at least not yet. but it was getting harder as he grew older.

"Sh, sorry baby I didn't mean to wake you," Liv said softly, I was hoping there wouldn't be work tonight but..."

"It's okay." Noah smiled softly. "When someone needs your help you have to, that's what you always say."

"I do, don't I?" Liv admitted as she watched the little boy put on sneakers and a jacket, grabbing his bag, ready to stay at the precinct.

"Yep now. let's go." He grinned at her.

 _God bless his heart._

* * *

Rafael had been working nonstop for hours now, coffee and a late night hot dog had kept awake for most of the night. He'd noticed Katie's missed calls after a moment. As he tried calling her back he was surprised when Sofia was the one to answer. "Papi?"

He gasped.

"Sofia? Where's Katie?" Silence, he could almost see his child biting her lip. "Why are you answering her phone?"

"The bad man is back, Katie went to see if she could help." Sofia told him. Rafael froze. "But she's isn't back."

"What bad man?" Sofia wouldn't answer him. "Sofi, how long it's been since Katie left?" He said after a moment. "Mi amor, I need you to do something for me alright?"

"Okay..."

"I need you to go into your room and stay there and be very quiet, can you do that for me?"

Sofia admitted. "Papi can you come home? Maybe bring Uncle Eddie, he can help fight the bad man." Sofia said. Rafael tried to remain calm as he didn't want to scare her.

But Rafael was scared, as a lawyer he was familiar with domestic violence cases, and if his personal experience had taught him anything, he knew just how much an abuser could hurt their victims and anyone else who would come their way, he knew Katie, he'd raised her with an enough sense of justice he has been sure she'd end up un law school, suprising enough, she'd taken a more centered route as an educator.

But like Rafael, they had both come out of difficult upbringings and it was their calling to do something when they saw another person threatened. He just prayed Katie wasn't too visceral about her decision as to put herself in harm's way.

* * *

Olivia arrived to the location Dodds had given her, Rollins, Amaro and Fin in tow, it was a nice enough neighborhood, not as fancy as the Upper East Side, much like her own. There were patrol cars already outside.

"SVU?" One of the officers asked. "Good thing you're here, there's some kind of hostage situation. A husband and wife, children." Olivia sighed. "Has he made any demands?"

"No, but we're guessing the daughter called us." He told her.

"Where do you want us Liv?" Rollins asked.

"I want to try and talk to him, anyone know anything more? Anything that can give us access to him."

"Well, it data is correct, this guy's just the type, he's been called on multiple domestic abuse cases, one of reckless driving, almost killing his kid." Nick said. "I'm sure he's a walker, guess she just had to take him back once more huh?"

"And the wife?"

"Martha Doyle, 32, three kids. All boys under ten."

"I thought you said she had a daughter?" Rollins asked.

"Maybe it was the nanny, she looks like someone who'd have one." Nick assessed.

"Yeah, but that only means he's got the nanny in there too." Fin said. Olivia sighed. "What now?"

Suddenly the phone buzzed. Olivia looked at the CNU guy and waited. "Hello?" A female voice. "I think, he's dead. We're okay but I think he's dead." Olivia looked over at Fin, for a moment her head registered a familiar voice although she couldn't place it.

* * *

Barba almost jumped off the cab as he saw the blue and red lights. "Stop!" He shoved some money into the man's hand. His eyes scanned for something, for someone, Sofia or Katie.

He prayed they were inside, but then he saw her. "Rafi!" It was Katie, he hugged her, after a moment, she gazed, her eyes were puffy and her cheek swollen. She looked much like the little girl he'd adopted years back. "Sofi's back there, she's with Detective Benson." Rafael followed her finger with his gaze, Sofia seemed fine, she was wrapped in a blanket and there were police around.

"What the hell happened? Are you alright?" He asked. Katie looked down.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to get in trouble." Her eyes were glistening. "I'm so sorry."

"Hey, the only thing you did wrong was trying to do this alone, you can't do that anymore, remember? Did he do that to you?" Katie nodded slowly.

"Oh Katie." He hugged her again. Rafael then saw Martha and her children in the back on another ambulance. "It was Henry,"

"Yeah, he came back drunk, broke the lock." Katie explained. "I just had to do something Raf, I couldn't just..."

Rafael sighed, he brushed Katie's unharmed cheek and kissed her forehead as she hugged him again. "I know,"

He left her for a moment, only to go check on Sofia. "Papi!" She said as she threw herself in his arms. "Papi. Katie was so brave, like a real superhero! So was Mrs. Doyle."

"Are you okay?" He asked holding her close. "Did he..."

"No, I stayed in my room like you said, I could only hear yelling until Katie came to get me, Olivia helped us out. She says the bad guy is going away for a long time, he won't hurt anyone anymore."

"Olivia?"

"Yeah, that's her." Sofia pointed towards a woman who was talking to Mrs. Doyle. She couldn't really see her well "Papi, guess what?"

"What?" He asked.

"She's Noah's mom, remember I told you, she really is a superhero." Sofia said with a wide smile. "She's like you!" Rafael smiled.

"Excuse me, I'm Lieutenant Benson." A voice said behind him. "You must be Sofia's dad."

He locked eyes with her for the first time, he'd met her before. "You." He whispered. He couldn't believe she was Noah's mom, I mean what were the chances? He'd picked up her phone and figured she was just another mom, not Noah's.

"You dropped your phone." He spoke. Suddenly at a loss for words, something that was very uncommon for someone like Rafi. "You dropped your phone and you are Noah's mom."

"Sofia's dad." Olivia smiled. "Listen I wish these were better circumstances for us to meet but I just want to tell you Sofia and the children are fine, Katie and Martha were very brave, somewhat reckless as well, he could have killed them, I understand you are Katie's legal guardian,"

"Rafael." He spoke. "Rafael Barba and I was, but she's 19."

"Still, I would like to go to the hospital, let us do a full examination." She told him. "As I've told you, the children seem unharmed but I don't like to take any chances." He put Sofia down, and followed Olivia to the side.

"Did he..." Rafael asked. Katie didn't answer, she didn't need to."Will she have to do a rape kit?"

"We'll know more after we do a full work up." Olivia said calmly. "Wait, how did you.."

"I work at the Brooklyn District Attorney's office," Rafael explained.

"I see." Liv said.

"Rafi" Martha had come to meet them now. "Oh my God Rafi." He held her. "I thought I was going to die, but then Katie showed up and I fainted..."

He soothed her. "And then I thought he was dead, thought I'd killed him. but my babies Rafael I couldn't let him hurt my babies." Martha said. She was unconsolable, Rfael had had his share of similar experiences, with his mother of all people, his father had made sure of that.

"Mrs. Doyle," Amanda spoke softly as she touched her shoulder, "We need you to come with us alright?"

"What for?" She turned to the blonde woman, "Henry is going to the hospital I need to go with,"

"We need to get you and your kids checked out," Amanda said, "Plus Katie and Sofia," A flash of pain crossed the woman's face.

"Oh, Rafael, I am so sorry, I didn't want your grils involved in my problems, Katie already helps enough with the boys when I have to work late." Barba smiled softly. She clearly hadn't seen the girl's face or she'd be in further sorrow.

"It's no problem Martha, the girls are fine, it's you we need to worry about right now, alright?" Martha smiled, she was younger than Rafael but she'd already been living in the building when he had come, her oldest one, James was about nine.

"What about Henry?' Amanda looked at Barba.

"He's still unconscious," She told the other woman. "He'll be transported to the hospital too."

Martha nodded slowly. Rafael turned around and spotted Olivia talking to Katie, "Go on ahead with the boys, I'll catch up," He told her, then turned to Amanda. "I don't want her talking to more cops until I get there." Amanda arched an eyebrow but nodded.

* * *

"Small world huh?" Katie said softly as Olivia offered her a blanket. "Is Sofi okay?'

Olivia smiled. "She's fine, enjoying the attention it seems." the woman smiled. "Do you want to tell me what happened Katie?'

"No, not really." She said. "And I don't have to talk to you without Rafael, I know I don't." Katie then lowered her head. "Sorry."

"So you are not just the nanny." Olivia said.

"Nope, Rafael took me in when I was twelve." Katie said."We just got each other you know? Although if you'd asked me back then what he had seen in me I woudn't know what to tell you." Olivia smiled, that remined her so much of Ellie Porter, she was sure Rafael had felt the same way she did when she had gotten Noah.

"Detective Benson." Came Raf's voice. "I'm sure you're done here, right?"

Katie glanced up at him. "I really need to get Katie over at the hospital, we'll get her statement there." Liv said.

"Is she being charged?" Rafael asked, Katie hadn't really told him what had happened but after hearing that Martha had passed out, he didn't have to guess much.

"We don't really know all the facts yet, do we? For now I'll just want to make sure everyone is safe." Rafael seemed content with her answer. "Then Katie and I will have to talk a little more."

* * *

They had made it to the hospital with all the children who after a full workup had been cleared, Nick had offered to take them back to the station where Noah was still being babysat by Carisi and Dodds. Truth be told Olivia wasn't worried about Noah but Sofia kept asking about him and she'd be happy to see him after what all she'd been trough today. But Rafael had other plans.

"Is Sofi going to be okay?" Katie asked. "She's a though kid, in and out of the hospital than most, that's why Rafi worries so much."

"Don't worry Katie, Detective Amaro will make sure that's the case." Liv said. "Mr. Barba said Sofia's grandmother can take the kids in the meantime." Kate nodded.

"where's Rafi,where's my son?" Lucia asked, she had stormed in, her face full of worry. "Where's my granddaugther?"

"She's sleeping, she's fine." Katie had said. Lucia didn't look at her. "I want to taker her home." Olivia nodded.

"Of course."

"Mami." Rafael had joined them in Katie's room.

"What happened?" She asked. "Why did this happen? No, you know what? I do not want to hear why you weren't home Friday night caring for your child."

"Mami, she's fine." Rafael rolled his eyes, he offered Olivia a glance as his mother continued to makle a scene. Olivia noticed he'd brought her a cup of coffee. "'I'm sorry."

"Hey, comes with the job, trust me, I know." She whispered.

"Lucia," Katie said. "I made sure Sofi was safe, I'd never put her in harm's way."

"Oh claro que no! Solamente con un loco." She began rambling in Spanish, "You should be ashamed Rafael. I told you she needs a mother, but you only care about work." Katie's eyes went wide and Rafael seemed utterly disturbed by her behaivor.

"Mami." Rafael begged, "Por favor...just take the kids home, we'll talk about this later." Katie was trying to keep her tears at bay when Lucia stormed out. "She knows it's not your fault, Katie . "

Katie looked at him. "Right..."

Rafael sighed. "I apologize on behalf of my mother, she's usually not this neurotic, most times." He explained to Olivia, "Here, I brought you some coffee, looks like you might need it. "

"I'm sure She's not a maniac like you Rafi." Katie said. "I'm always telling him to cut down on caffeine."

"Thank you." Liv smiled, "Now Katie, you wanted to have your attorney present."

"How much trouble am I in?" She was curious, and terrified, Rafael could see that.

"Depends on how much you can tell me."

* * *

 **Longest chapter yet! I'm glad so many people are liking it! see? Barson already have a connection, next one will have Noah and Sofia and Rafael's decision on taking Katie in.**

 **Did you like how they met? This is SVU after all.**

 **Translations**

 **Oh claro que no! Solamente con un loco- No, of course not, just with a crazy person .**


	7. Chapter 7

**_I CAN READ YOU_**

 _ **A**_ _ **U. Olivia and Rafael meet by chance but it's faith who seems to pull them towards one another. Barson.**_

 _ **Sorry for the long wait guys! Had eye surgery a month ago and sat on this chapter for quite a while. Let's see your theories.**_

 _ **Chapter 7:**_

 _Rafael had come home a bit earlier than usual. He and Olivia had planned on taking the whole family to Miami where some of Lucia's family lived. It was only two days away. If he was being truly honest it made him bit uneasy about having the kids have to spend hours on a plane. Thankfully he had Katie to give them a hand._

 _"Papi! You are home!" Sofia smiled as she came bouncing up and down. "Abuelita is here already." Rafael kissed his child's forehead._

 _"Hola Rafi, how was work?"_

 _"Officially closed for the holidays. That's all I'm going to say about it until January." He sighed loosening his tie._

 _"Good, Olivia just called. She's on her way too. She just had to make a quick stop before diner."_

 _"Of course she did." Rafael smiled. This latest case they've been working on had taken on Olivia hard, especially around Christmas and she wanted to make sure Tammy and her kids were settled during her absence._

 _"What's for dinner?" That smells amazing mami."_

 _"It tastes even better" Sofia added. Rafael sneaked on the side to take a peek on the dish. She almost slapped his hand like a little boy. "Have some bread mi amor. We're waiting for Olivia. No one is eating until she gets here."_

 _"Don't pout. It doesn't look good on you Rafi." Katie said behind him as she led Noah out of his room._

 _"Well at least one of us is eating around here." He pointed out as he spotted the baby in Katie's arms. Little Leo's green eyes sparkled as he spotted his daddy. "Come here amigo."_

 _" you can give him a bath while Liv gets here. Keep yourself busy" Katie said. Rafael loved one on time with each of his children. Whether it was watching a movie with Sofia or building a Lego tower with Noah or giving Leo a bath._

 _"Okay. I guess I could do that. Meanwhile, what about you two go and put on your PJ.'s. Then put on a movie?"_

 _"It's my time to pick!" Noah announced. Within minutes both children were gone. Rafael sighed._

* * *

 _"Let's see here amigo. Too warm?" Leo giggled as Barba put him down on the tub. His hand splashing around. "Think I can persuade mama to stay here for Christmas?"_

 _"Mama beach!" He giggled._

 _"Yeah, that got her pretty excited, huh?"_

 _Truth be told, he was a bit anxious about Liv meeting everyone. He had enough family to scare anyone into a corner, even Olivia Benson._

 _Olivia had said her goodbyes to everyone at work as she was going to be off the radar for a few weeks. A well-deserved break with Rafael and the kids. The warmth of the beach instead of snow._

 _It was definitely going to be different. But she'd learned to accept it and embrace her life. So much had changed in her life in the last four years since she'd met Rafael and Sofia Barba._

 _"Hello?"_

 _"Liv?" Katie smiled as she opened the oven one more time. Benson could listen to the TV turned on the next room. "How was work?"_

 _"It was okay, but frankly I'm glad to be home. Where's everyone?"_

 _Just like that, her children bolted into the room. Leo going as fast as his small legs would allow him to._

 _"Mommy!" It was the best feeling in the world, Olivia's work didn't allow her to detach from the victims, hell, her own existence didn't, but seeing her children's faces was what made it all worthwhile. "Slow down there amigo, mama can´t lift you remember?"_

 _Rafael came behind them with a smile._

 _"And who's to blame for that?" Liv said as Rafael picked the little boy so he could kiss her._

 _"Oh no mi amor. I seem to remember you were there too." He reached to hold her growing belly, giving her a sweet kiss on the lips. "Everything okay?"_

 _"It is now." She admitted. "I'm off duty for the next two weeks. All yours." They kissed again._

 _"If papi puts another baby in a there, she's going to explode." Sofia said breaking their kissing. Rafael sighed as Liv giggled._

 _"Mi amor, that's not how…" Liv shot him a look. "Where's Abuelita?"_

 _"Over here you two. Let's eat." Lucia called._

* * *

 _Two days to go._

 _Olivia was dreading this flight in hush just as Rafael. It wasn't easy being six months pregnant with twins, having two 9 year olds and a toddler._

 _"Here mom, I'll help you." Noah said with a smile as they got out of the cab. Olivia got a hold of Noah's hand._

 _"Stay close everyone." Lucia took Sofia's hand. Katie followed closely with Leo._

 _"Here we go." Rafael entered the plane first, followed by Liv and Lucia. "Buckle up both of you." He told Sofia and Noah._

 _"Papi? Can we watch a movie?"_

 _"Can I pick one?"_

 _"Of course, each of you can pick one and if you like it you can switch." Rafael told them._

 _They were quickly on their business. Rafael sighed._

 _"Here I'll take the baby for a while." Lucia offered Olivia._

 _"Mi amor why don't you take a nap?" It'll do you good."_

 _"Are you sure?" She asked._

 _"Yes." He kissed her softly. "Sleep."_

* * *

 _Liv woke up just as they were meant to land. She couldn't believe she'd been able to do sleep the whole flight. She slowly opened her eyes. Sofia and Noah were so into their movie she was sure there hadn't even spoken a word and Katie had a close hold on Leo._

 _"I was out this long?"_

 _"You were. Looking so peaceful I didn't have the heart to wake you," he confessed with a smile._

 _"Thank you." She said softly._

 _As soon as they made it over to baggage claim Rafael began to tense a little. Liv could see it. "Dad?" Noah asked._

 _"Stay close to your mom." He told him. He got a hold on to Sofia's hand as they made over to their luggage. Rafael and Noah had managed to put it all up on a trolley._

 _"Are you sure someone's here to pick us mijo?" Lucia asked._

 _"Of course mami, I just texted them,"_

 _"Them?" Lucia asked. Olivia raised an eyebrow at him._

 _"Uncle Carlos!" Sofia broke into a run as she spotted a familiar face._

 _Rafael turned around to see his old friend approaching. Leonardo wasn't that far behind._

 _"There she is! How's my favorite goddaughter?" He swept her up in a hug._

 _"I'm good. Almost ten."_

 _"So I heard. When are you going to start dating?"_

 _"Not until I'm forty. That's what papi says anyway." Carlos put the little girl down._

 _"Oh, is that so?"_

 _"It is, don't get any ideas into her head," Rafael said. Carlos smiled._

 _"Right," He said. "I hear you Mano."_

 _"You better." Rafael hugged his friend warmly. "Where's Leo?"_

 _"Oh he was parking the car." He reached for Olivia. "Liv, nice seeing you again. Congratulations on those babies. How are you feeling?"_

 _"Like blowing up?" Olivia admitted hugging him close. "You?"_

 _"Sleeping barely." Carlos sighed. He'd just become a parent for the 6th time. Married since he was 18, he'd known Rafi since they were 4 years old. He would spend every summer with him and Leonardo._

 _"Noah my man. How are you?"_

 _He highed fived the little boy. Carlos had met them last summer in New York. It was as if Rafi transformed himself into a younger version, into a boy with a different light in his eyes as he laughed with Carlos. They met Leonardo, who was actually Rafael's cousin, outside. Taking action he held his namesake and godson as he opened the door for Olivia. "Flight okay?" He asked as he strapped in the little boy in his own boy's car seat._

 _"Papi?" Sofia asked as soon as Leonardo turned the engine on. "Can we go swimming?"_

 _"Yes! Can we?" Noah echoed. "Please Dad?" It wasn't as cold as Rafael remembered, global warming._

 _Carlos had insisted they should stay with him, Leonardo had not enough space in his flat as he and his wife had a little one, still, Carlos had more than enough space for the growing family._

 _Alexis was Carlos's wife. They've met in school and married soon after. Rafael had been best man, their first child, Felix had been born shortly after. He'd just moved out a few years back going to college and was home for the holidays._

 _"Uncle Rafi. I've seen pictures of Olivia but they don't do her justice." He said with a charming smile._

 _"Don't trust him mi amor, he's quite a Don Juan this one." Rafael rolled his eyes._

 _"Hey, I'm a one woman kind of guy. All is good."_

 _"It better be." Rafael told him._

* * *

 _It was warm enough for Sofia and Noah to join the rest of the Solera kids at the pool. Tanya was 16, Ricky 14, Mateo 10, Karla 6 and Valentin had just turned 1._

 _Olivia could see Rafael was in his element with Leonardo and Carlos, she hadn't really understood all his worry until they made it to her aunt's for the first time._

 _"I still don't know why you let your aunt get to you Rafi." Carlos said in all seriousness as they began washing the dishes in the kitchen. Leonardo had tried to keep his mother at bay as his wife had joined them in the kitchen._

 _"She just doesn't approve of Rafael wanting more out of life. That's why he left Miami for good. Never comes to visit. But that's no crime Raf,"_

 _"No one has ever given me a reason to come more often." He told her dryly. From the corner of his eye he could see Olivia talking to Alexis "Have they?"_

 _Having been born and raised in New York, Rafael used to love coming to Miami every summer, it was a way of getting away from everything else in his life and actually feeling like he belonged, Olivia had learned so much about Rafael in the last few years as to know where that fire within him came from, the sense of right and the conviction of fighting for others. She remembered when he'd first began working at SVU. Not only was he Sofia's dad but he also proved to be useful for the team. It was his Latin blood, Nick who quarreled with him said. And Olivia loved that aspect of Rafael, so warm and loving and yet focused and smart._

* * *

 _"You could just spend Christmas with us." Carlos told him a few days after the Margarita incident. "We might be a little too much to handle but you could go over with Lucia's family Christmas morning."_

 _Rafael sighed. Christmas at the Solera's wasn't that different from his own experience but it was definitely better than having his aunt disapprove of every part of his life._

 _"Why is Aunt Tanya so mad at you Papi?" Sofia asked._

 _Rafael smiled softly. "She just wanted me to take another path in my life." He told her. "Wanted me to be…"_

 _"Like me." Carlos said. "Be in the family business, get married and have kids."_

 _"But Papi is married and has kids." Sofia said._

 _"Yes, but your aunt wanted him to do whatever she thought was best for him when it was actually something she wanted for herself." Carlos explained. "Does that make sense?"_

 _"I guess." She admitted._

* * *

 _"Hey mano where's Olivia?" Carlos asked as he joined Rafael a stool at his bar._

 _"Out doing some last minute Christmas shopping with your wife"_

 _"She take your credit card?"_

 _"I'm a lawyer, what do you think?" The two childhood friends laughed._

 _"And all I'm glad you're here, Olivia is great, especially with Sofia. She needed that."_

 _"So I keep hearing." He took a sip of his beer, he wasn't a scotch type of guy right now._

 _"Does she ever ask about her mom?"_

 _"I don't give her a chance to, although I think she wonders, not so much now with Olivia though,"_

 _"Are you ever going to tell her?"_

 _"Eventually. On my death bed I think."_

 _"Raf, I'm serious. Does Olivia know?"_

 _"She knows enough."_

* * *

 ** _TBC. Theories? Just a side note, Rafael's friends Leonardo and Carlos are supposed to be played by Lin Manuel Miranda and Carlos Ponce whom I love._**


End file.
